SearchGPT – OpenAI Enters the Internet Search Business
On June 25th, OpenAI announced that it is beginning to test a new AI internet search model that will transform the way we search, and invited interested parties to sign up for the SearchGPT waitlist.
SearchGPT – Revolution or Evolution?
Television and internet services are feverishly reporting the news about the emergence of SearchGPT. It’s obvious that an advertising campaign has begun to introduce a new product to the insatiable IT market. And when it involves a large company like OpenAI, whose announced service enters the heart of an even larger company’s business, the campaign starts to resemble warfare.
We have written multiple times about ChatGPT and its applications, as well as other AI projects (Deepmind, POE, VeniceAI, MaxAI, etc.) based on Large Language Models (LLM). SearchGPT is the result of a logical merger between the internet and AI models into a new product. The idea is to enhance real-time internet searches with the ever-improving conversational capabilities of AI models. Using LLM in the field of internet search is not new. Many are already doing this, with the startup Perplexity being a well-known example.
For now, there are no detailed information about how the new service will function. The declared goal of SearchGPT is to provide fast and detailed answers in searches, while using and citing relevant sources. Additional questions can further clarify or specify the search. Instead of a list of links obtained through classical searching, SearchGPT attempts to understand and organize the found information, and then present it as summarized descriptions with links. In a blog post, OpenAI emphasized that SearchGPT was developed in collaboration with various news companies, such as The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Vox Media, etc. This further increases the project’s credibility.
Despite the media frenzy, one gets the impression that OpenAI is cautiously entering the project. They will introduce certain functions gradually after extensive testing. In the end, what proves to be the best would be integrated into GPT. So there will be one central place (GPT) where all business and private activities of users will take place. It won’t be necessary to “go out on the internet” to see, buy, or do something. A completely closed circle – a monopoly over all information. Sounds familiar.
What future awaits SearchGPT, or what will Google do?
Since Google practically dominates the internet search market, the excited public is expecting its reactions to the news about SearchGPT’s emergence. If Google sees that some competitive projects and functions better attract clients, they certainly won’t sit idly by. They have more than enough financial and human resources to quickly do something similar and incorporate it into their product. It wouldn’t be the first time. Recently, many content creators felt the painful consequences of Google’s summarizing of content from pages listed in the search. This summarization is of such quality that visitors, satisfied with the information, no longer even click on the link behind the text. This is certainly a result of embedded AI models.
When it comes to the market, it’s known that it’s not just the quality of the product or positive user reactions that decide, but also the possibility of mass distribution of the new product. This, among other things, means agreements and contracts with hundreds of software and hardware companies. It’s clear that Google has a big advantage in this area.
On the other hand, OpenAI is not just an ordinary startup. We shouldn’t forget that Microsoft owns a 49% stake in it. Not coincidentally, Microsoft’s search platform – Bing – recently integrated some ChatGPT functions. It’s estimated that seven billion dollars will be spent this year on training AI models and other activities related to GPT development. Upon market appearance, SearchGPT will be free, and this search platform does not include ads. Obviously, the question of monetization of the entire project could be crucial.
Our opinion is that Google Search won’t be defeated, but it will have a somewhat slower growth in revenue or time users spend searching (call it what you will), because SearchGPT and similar projects will occupy a part of the rapidly growing market.
Platform:
Web service
